Peer Influence: Mechanisms and Motivations

Peer Influence in Initiation to Heroin Use

“…Costello and Zozula (2018) also found both selfish and altruistic motives for positive influence. Attempts at preventing substance use to protect a friend’s health or safety, as in preventing someone from driving under the influence, were common.…”

“…There were some examples of selfish motives for positive peer influence as well, although these were less common. Overall, Costello and Zozula (2018) found that 53% of the reported motives for deviant peer influence were selfish, 36% were altruistic, and 10% could not be classified in either direction. In contrast, only 12% of reported motives for prosocial or anti-deviant peer influence were selfish, 83% were altruistic, and 6% could not be classified.…”

“…One study of deviant behavior among university students focused specifically on motives for both positive and negative peer influence (Costello & Zozula, 2018). Drawing on prior research suggesting that peer influence toward deviance is self-interested (Costello & Hope, 2016), and on Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) argument that deviant behavior is caused by low self-control, Costello and Zozula argued that motives for pro-deviant peer influence would be more likely to be self-interested than motives for anti-deviant or prosocial peer influence.…”

“…Costello and Zozula (2018) viewed peer influence toward deviance or drug use as analogous to criminal behavior and thus proposed that influencing friends toward deviance would be more likely to be rooted in the self-interested motives characteristic of those with low self-control. In contrast, they held that peer influence away from deviance or toward prosocial, productive behavior would be more likely to be motivated by concern for the other.…”

“…The purpose of the current study is to investigate these issues. Drawing on prior research on motives of both positive and negative peer influence (Costello & Zozula, 2018), and drawing on Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime, we hypothesize that those with lower self-control will be more likely to initiate others and less likely to report trying to prevent others from first use. We also examine the motives for initiating others and predict that those motives will be more self-interested than other-directed.…”